


Markus Manfred Makes Good and Makes Out

by OhNoMyBreadsticks, thislittlekumquat



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Human AU, Idiots in Love, M/M, Modern AU, More tags to be added, Multi, Polyamory, smut in later chapters, tagging this is a nightmare but it's the Jericrew plus Chloe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2020-03-07 10:53:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18871744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhNoMyBreadsticks/pseuds/OhNoMyBreadsticks, https://archiveofourown.org/users/thislittlekumquat/pseuds/thislittlekumquat
Summary: Markus Manfred is a businessman on the move - he's no stranger to airports thanks to his hectic travel schedule. He also has an uncanny knack for meeting the most attractive people at the worst possible times. Unfortunately for him, he's about to learn an important lesson: the Frankfurt airport never gives up its secrets.





	1. Markus + Simon

**Author's Note:**

> HOO BOY so this is a weird fic, I'm aware lol. I woke up one morning and asked 'what if I took all my weird experiences in the Frankfurt airport and made it polycho?' And thislittlekumquat, the angel that she is, indulged me completely XD All beta credit for the fic also goes to her as usual C:
> 
> Please enjoy our very fluffy take on polycho meet-cutes in the Frankfurt airport! <3
> 
> Note: each chapter will contain one portion written by each author. In this chapter, Markus' POV is written by OhNoMyBreadsticks, and Simon's POV is written by thislittlekumquat.

Markus was just having one of those days. If you travelled long enough, you eventually had a few of Those Days. And God, did Markus travel enough. As a rising business partner in the New Jericho corporation, he was needed in a different part of Europe or North America every week or so, which meant a lot of air travel. Recently his flights had been routing him through Frankfurt, which shouldn’t have been that much of a problem. It was a big airport, and fairly new, with all the amenities a busy man like Markus needed when he was on the go. Somehow though, bad things always happened when he flew through Frankfurt.

 

Today, oh today, bad things were definitely happening. First Markus gotten stuck on the runway for an extra hour after the plane landed on German soil, and then as he rushed into the airport in a bid to make it through customs before his next flight, the notification came through that said flight had been delayed for the next four hours. Which, to a seasoned traveller like Markus, meant that it was probably going to be delayed into tomorrow. So here he was, exhausted, jet lagged, and stuck in the Frankfurt airport for the foreseeable future. He had to grit his teeth against the urge to swear at how much this was exactly what he hadn’t wanted to do today. He didn’t even have access to his luggage, so he was also stuck in the suit he had been wearing since he left Detroit.

 

Luckily, what Markus did have was a wallet full of Euros, since he travelled to Europe regularly enough. At least he wouldn’t have to go to one of those cash exchange places in the airport and get charged a fortune in fees. He supposed he could check into the VIP lounge and get some rest and freshen up, but all of a sudden his stomach was demanding to be heard. Even first class airplane food was still airplane food, and it had been a while since his last serving of complimentary peanuts. Alright, food was the priority now, but Markus wasn’t totally sure of where to go. The area around customs wasn’t particularly scenic, and he refused to eat what basically amounted to gas station pizza being sold out of a cart.

 

By the time Markus reached what he assumed was the main thoroughfare of the airport, he was in an even worse mood than before. How was it so empty in all of those hallways and yet so busy in this huge open area? He was being buffeted left and right by people with too much luggage and not enough time, finally escaping onto an escalator that promised to bring him up to a food court type area. Not ideal, but with his energy at an all time low, Markus would almost settle for a big mac right now. However, as he got to the top of the escalator, something in the opposite direction of the food court caught his eye. A strange glow, almost like an old lamp was shining just around the corner.

 

His stomach and his terrible mood protested, but Markus’ feet were already carrying him in the direction of the glow. When he turned the corner, he felt his breath catch in his throat. There, tucked away in a quiet corner of the airport, was a beautiful little cafe. Small brick planters were placed around it, forming a sort of gentle perimeter around a collection of little wooden tables and chairs. Lamps were strung up through a fake trellis ceiling overhanging the entire area, bathing it in the soft golden glow Markus had seen at first. He didn’t even bother looking at the little chalkboard sign proclaiming the name of the cafe and a welcome message, his feet propelling him over to one of the empty chairs.

 

There was no one else in the cafe, and to Markus it was almost as if the bustle of the airport completely disappeared. It was peaceful, but the hush was allowing the exhaustion to finally catch up with his body. He dropped into the chair with a soft sigh, looking down at the menu on the table with eyes that were barely able to comprehend English at this point. God, everything looked amazing, a selection of warm and cold food printed out neatly with accompanying pictures. Markus was so engrossed in the difficulty of choosing what he wanted that he didn’t hear the other person approaching until they spoke. 

 

“How can I help you?” said a soft voice, accented with a slow German lilt on the vowel sounds. Markus’ eyes jerked upwards awkwardly and got stuck on the most angelic looking man he had ever seen in his life. A face that was both soft around the edges but also strangely angular, framed by tufts of light blond hair that fell across his forehead. Crystal blue eyes peered down curiously at Markus, who still hadn’t managed to say anything, his mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out. A small frown creased the perfect skin of the mystery man’s face, and he uttered something concerned in German, clearly wondering if Markus just didn’t speak English.

 

“Oh, uh, sorry, yes, I would like to order,” Markus finally managed to stammer out, forcing himself to stop staring and look down at the menu instead. Shit, why did he have to be wearing the world’s most wrinkled suit when he met a literal angel? Not to mention the terrible airline breath he must be sporting… 

 

The blond simply smiled (Markus’ heart gave another awkward leap at that) and nodded, pulling out a small notepad. “What can I get you?” he asked, dutifully writing down Markus’ rambling order of probably too much food and leaving with another soft smile.

 

Once the man was gone, Markus drooped again, his shoulders slumping as he let his head fall into his hands. Oh god, really smooth, he chastised himself, just totally forget how to speak English, that will impress him. He took a few deep breaths and tried to relax, the embarrassment and persistent terrible mood from the rest of the day making that harder than usual. Markus wouldn’t consider himself an island of calm in the best of times, but he was usually better than a stammering idiot. By the time that the blond brought his food out, Markus had managed to at least collect his thoughts enough to give him a smile of his own in thanks for the speedy delivery. His stomach was still protesting the lack of food, after all.

 

“Wait, I think there’s been some mistake,” Markus said in confusion before the waiter could quite finish turning to leave, “I didn’t order this.” He pointed to a mug of steaming milk with a small metal pot next to it. 

 

“Oh, that’s….you looked tired, so I thought you might like a hot chocolate,” the young man replied (was Markus imagining the soft pink tinge to his cheeks? He hoped not). “No charge, of course. I just…” 

 

He trailed off awkwardly, and Markus peered into the little metal pot to see it was in fact filled with a dark melted chocolate, presumably that he was supposed to pour into the hot milk. “Thank you,” he said, managing a proper smile as he looked back up to lock eyes with the blond, “I really appreciate that.” 

 

A smile was all the response he got, but honestly Markus was already prepared to die for that smile. He ate and drank in a haze, his spirits only lifting with each bite of flaky pastry and sip of warm liquid chocolate. Just when he thought the day couldn’t possibly be rescued further, Markus got an alert to his phone notifying him of a new flight departing in less than an hour that would get him where he needed to go. Elated at the prospect of making it to a real bed within the day, he rushed to pay for his meal and shoot that incredibly cute waiter one more smile before he was booking it to his gate.

 

As Markus settled into his seat in first class he realized that he hadn’t actually  _ stopped _ smiling since he left the cafe of that angel of a man. Not only that, but he felt light and full of energy despite the jetlag, something he was going to attribute to the incredible food and ambiance. Incredible. He was already making plans to go back when he had his return connection in Frankfurt. He still needed to get that angel’s name, after all. Or the name of the cafe for that matter. A slight hint of worry made its way into Markus’ mind, but he did his best to ignore it. He would definitely find his way back; how could he forget such a wonderful experience?

  
  


\----

 

Simon was having an excellent day. He had the morning and midday shift, because Josh had been generous and tired that morning when they woke up. Simon was a morning person, and so even though Josh liked to be there to see the day start, he often didn’t mind sleeping a bit extra and letting Simon run the show. It had been somewhat slow so far, which meant that Simon had all the time he wanted to daydream between customers. And the customers they did have were delightful.

 

In particular, in fact, was one very morose American. Or at least he looked American, given his rumpled suit and the way he was examining the menu. Simon had his hand over the notepad in his pocket as he walked up, ready to get the man’s order in a hurry, because his sort was usually rushing. Using his pleasantest morning voice, Simon said, “How can I help you?”

 

The man startled a little and looked up at Simon. Oh no, he was absolutely adorable. Like a kicked puppy. Simon’s heart flopped over. The man was clearly stressed out and exhausted, but his beautifully mismatched eyes were clear and looking at him like he was the only person in the world. Another heartflop.

 

But then the man continued to stare, and Simon, a little worried, tried German instead. Perhaps the man wasn’t American after all. How embarrassing to have made that mistake.

 

“Oh, uh, sorry, yes, I would like to order,” the man finally stammered, in English. Simon relaxed a little, and slipped his notepad out of his pocket, ready for him. 

 

“What can I get you?” he asked, smiling softly. He couldn’t help but smile, he wanted this total stranger to feel at ease, for both of their sakes. Plus, this guy was absolutely too cute when he was flustered. He took down the order - a wide variety of things, the poor guy was probably having one of those awful airport days, on top of the obvious jet lag - and smiled again. Nodding pleasantly, he headed back to the kitchen to hand off the order to Daniel, who looked bored, thankfully, since he now had to make like three meals’ worth of food all at once.

 

Daniel squinted at the order. “How many people just wandered up, Jesus,” he groused, even though Simon knew he was happy to have something to do. 

 

“Just one guy. He seems really out of it, poor thing. I’m giving him some chocolate on the house, ‘kay?”

 

Daniel pushed past Simon to look out a small window in the staff door to the seating area. He looked back at his brother and squinted knowingly. “You have a type, anyone ever tell you that?”

 

Simon flushed a little. “That has nothing to do with it!” He didn’t mean to pout, but it came naturally to him, and Daniel just sighed. “It doesn’t matter. You’re right, he looks dead on his feet. I’ll heat up the milk, make it a big helping.

 

Simon, still huffing a bit, went to plug in the order to their cash register before preparing the parts of the man’s order that didn’t require Daniel’s efforts. It was pretty bold of his annoying younger brother to assume he was doing it because he thought the guest was cute. 

 

Bold and correct, unfortunately. But the poor guy was exhausted, Simon thought as he glanced out the small window in the server door again, and he clearly needed a pick me up, drop-dead cute or not. And he always liked to think that their place never went out of business, despite how slow it was, because people needed them, and ended up here in this weird corner because of it. 

 

Daniel had most of the food ready to go pretty quick, so Simon loaded up most of the order, placed the hot chocolate spread lovingly on the tray, and floated out to deliver it all. The guy looked about ready to devour anything put in his mouth, and maybe fall asleep at the same time, and Simon had to blink rather inappropriate images out of his head as he sunnily set all the food out for him. That done, Simon was delighted to receive a small, beautiful smile in thanks for the food. 

 

“Let me know if you need anything else. I have a couple more items for you in just a few minutes, but I thought you would like to get started already,” he said as the man’s gaze regrettably fell away, to look at the food eagerly. At least it saved him the trouble of deciding if a wink was too much or not. 

 

But before he could turn to leave, the man said, “Wait, I think there’s been some mistake. I didn’t order this.”

 

Simon, not expecting him to comment on it and willing his traitorous face not to give him away, said, “Oh, that’s…. You looked tired, so I thought you might like a hot chocolate. No charge, of course. I just….” Just what, anyways, Simon? He tried not to think of Daniel rolling his eyes knowingly.

 

“Thank you,” the man said, looking up at him, beautiful eyes crinkling warmly as he smiled properly. Simon’s heart did two flops this time. “I really appreciate that.”

 

Not trusting his voice - lord, what was he, sixteen? - he smiled warmly and nodded again before leaving the guest to his meal, which he looked sorely in need of by now.

 

He had been hoping that the man would take his time giving him an opportunity to chat, but a phone chimed from his pocket when Simon brought out the last two items. Next thing Simon knew, he was being pulled away by a woman walking up in need of a restroom and a triple shot of espresso and a dozen muffins. She was joined two minutes later by a man who wanted their three-course special. And then a couple and their loud son who had questions about whether they offered dietary accommodations. The lunch rush had started.

 

So in the end, Daniel had to pop out to take the mysterious guest’s money, since Josh somehow had not arrived yet, and Simon could only watch as the man was dashing off, hiking his laptop bag up over one shoulder in determination. Rumpled suit or not, it didn’t hide the fact that he also had a cute ass. He couldn’t bear to look Daniel in the face all afternoon, because he knew his disappointment at the man’s departure was palpable. And Daniel, mercifully, just scolded him for being slower than normal in his tasks. His brother always managed to be kind, even if he had no respect.

 

He hoped the handsome stranger had at least caught his flight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, we hope you enjoyed! We certainly love some fluffy polycho, so we're excited to keep writing this story for ya'll <3


	2. Markus + North

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back with more polycho shenanigans!! Time for Markus to meet another one of the gang, I wonder how that will go...
> 
> As with last chapter, Markus' POV is written by OhNoMyBreadsticks, and North's POV is written by the lovely thislittlekumquat.

When Markus stepped off the plane and into the Frankfurt airport again several weeks later, he found his mood couldn’t have been more different than the last time. Instead of being filled with dread and annoyance, he was driven by a fluttery excitement and more energy than a man who had just been on a seven hour plane ride should be allowed to have. All throughout the flight here (and the past few weeks, if he was being really honest with himself), the image of that blond angel had been flashing through his mind. 

 

Markus was self aware enough to know when he had a stupid crush, and boy had this one come on fast. Part of him was terrified to go back to the cafe for fear of meeting the man again and being disappointed. Maybe he had just hallucinated the whole thing because he was sleep deprived? But the taste of warm hot chocolate and the sight of that soft smile were too vivid in his mind for it to have been a dream. He just had to get back to that cafe and everything would be fine. Maybe he could even ask for the man’s name. Or his number, although that was wishful thinking even for Markus.

 

The problem was, Markus hadn’t had any luck in finding out where the cafe was located. He had tried to use the Frankfurt airport’s website to locate it on a map, but with no idea what it was called and no real idea of what part of the airport he had been in, the task had proved nearly impossible. Not to mention the fact that none of the maps online made the least bit of sense. But he had always found airports to be hard to navigate - maybe he just didn’t have a head for directions.

 

But optimism carried Markus off the plane, and he set out from his gate determined to just walk until he found the large central plaza, then retrace his steps from before. It was a simple enough plan, and he had booked himself a frankly ridiculous layover to execute it in. He had even tried to dress nicely, as dumb as that felt when he was on a plane for that long. Suddenly, he felt like he understood those women he had always looked at sideways who wore heels in the airport. 

 

Maybe Markus was distracted by his nerves, or maybe he just took a wrong turn, but somehow the hallways he was walking through never led to the big open area from before. Instead, he found himself suddenly underground, or at least in a windowless part of the airport, walking through hallway after indistinguishable hallway. At first there were stores and little restaurants to his left and right, but eventually everything simply smoothed out into blank walls on either side. He found himself surrounded by nothing but fluorescently lit halls and little waiting areas for gates hidden behind security checkpoints. 

 

Markus tried to keep his spirits up, but after half an hour of walking all the optimism wore off and the exhaustion kicked in. He hadn’t slept well on the plane ride over, after all, and he had been counting on taking a rest and getting some food to boost his energy at the cafe. After finding a hallway that boasted nothing but a pretzel cart, Markus couldn’t take it any more. He plopped down on a bench and let out a long sigh, allowing himself a few moments of feeling really defeated.

 

Those few minutes of wallowing didn’t really do anything to help him, and after checking his phone for the time Markus decided he might as well just take a nap and tackle finding his gate later. If he couldn’t see the cute cafe employee, what was the point of staying awake anyways, he thought petulantly. He leaned back and got as comfortable as possible on the bench, setting an alarm on his phone to make sure he didn’t just pass out and do something stupid like miss his flight. Sleep hit him like a speeding train, and soon he was unaware of anything, even his own terrible mood.

 

Markus awoke to the sensation of someone tapping him gently but firmly on the shoulder. A voice was trying to say something to him, but it took him a few tries to finally parse the words. Everything was still clouded in that haze of post-nap jetlag brain. The first thing he managed to make out was a stern sort of face looking down at him, a half frown creasing the woman’s eyebrows together. Her hair was a brilliant auburn, and Markus wasn’t sure how it was managing to glow under these terrible lights, but it really was.

 

“--ir, Sir? Is this your bag?” The woman repeated herself again, and Markus finally gathered his wits to reply, “Yes, sorry, um, this one?” He reached down to where his laptop bag had been when he fell asleep, only to realize it had somehow slid off the bench and landed on the floor, where it was awkwardly sticking into the hallway. He bent down to grab it, pulling it back up and onto his lap before looking back up at the woman with an apologetic smile.

 

“Sorry, I dozed off and it must have slipped,” Markus explained, taking in the person he was talking to a little bit more carefully now that the embarrassment had jolted him awake. She was wearing what he recognized as a Frankfurt airport security uniform, and she had one hand resting casually on her hip as she looked down at him. Her frown had smoothed back into a more amused sort of expression, but Markus still felt as if she was judging him just a little bit. He must look like a mess though, he thought with some distress, sleeping on a bench in an empty hallway.

 

“Not a problem, sir. Keep an eye on that bag though, it’s everyone’s job to make sure airport security is maintained,” she said, her voice calm and her speech practiced. The accent on her English was distinctly German, but Markus noted that it was different than the man in the cafe’s. Suddenly realizing this might be his chance to ask someone who actually worked here where the cafe was, Markus pulled out his phone to write down the directions he hoped to get and instead blanched. Somehow, he had slept through his alarm and was now dangerously close to missing his boarding call.

 

“I hate to ask, but could you help me find Gate B25?” Markus asked, feeling the embarrassment he was already suffering from only growing and blossoming in his chest. “This place is, well… I suppose I might just have to admit I’m bad at navigation,” he said, trying to play off the fact that he might be flushing a bit under some self-deprecation. 

 

To his eternal surprise, the woman simply chuckled and nodded, saying, “Here, I’ll take you part of the way there. This place is a maze, bad at navigation or not.” Her face maintained a stern countenance even when she was clearly amused, but Markus noted with a small spark of joy that the corners of her mouth rose up into dimples with just half a smile.

 

Getting to his feet, Markus began following the woman through the halls, and he was suddenly very grateful that his nap had given him some energy back. She walked as if she knew exactly where she was going, and didn’t want to waste any time making it there. Long, steady strides meant that Markus had to really focus on keeping his own strides long so he didn’t have to hurry to keep up. She didn’t make small talk as they walked, but he found that despite that he didn’t feel terribly awkward. The silence was purposeful and calm, and he had no doubt that if she had wanted to say something, she wouldn’t have hesitated.

 

Eventually they arrived at what was a more recognizable concourse, with actual signage and a bit of a bustle to it. “Down that way is B terminal, you’ll go through security when you get to your gate, so I’d advise you hurry,” she said, shooting Markus another one of her half smiles. Markus half turned to leave before he suddenly stopped, swivelling in place, determined not to make the same mistake again. “Thank you so much, Miss…” he said, clearly fishing for her name with a hopeful smile of his own. Tired or not, Markus knew how to smile.

 

“You can call me North,” said North, seemingly surprised by the question, but not put out, “No Miss-ing, just North. Now go on, or you are going to miss your flight.”

 

She delivered the joke with a completely straight face, and Markus didn’t get it until he was several paces away in the direction of his flight. He laughed anyways, wondering how his mood had managed to turn around in the space of about fifteen minutes. There really was something about this damn airport, he thought, and he was going to fly through it until he found out what it was.

* * *

It was cute, North thought, how Simon’s crushes always developed this way. He was so irresponsible with where he laid his affections, and he always had to be consoled when it was some random traveler who he had to finally admit he would never see again. 

 

Cute, and kind of exhausting. North could only help so much before she just took the easy route and teased him until he tackle hugged her and pouted to get her to stop.

 

This time, though, he had it bad. Even Josh was struggling to cheer him up. It had been more than a month, and Simon was still determined to be at the cafe as much as possible. When he wasn’t at the cafe, he anxiously pestered the others to keep an eye out for the stranger. But the description Simon gave was so fanciful that it could apply to any handsome man who wandered in. 

 

Even so, as the days turned into weeks, Daniel, who had actually gotten a look at him, didn’t see him again, and Josh had to admit that no one he saw matched Simon’s description very well. Simon continued to mope gently, pretending it didn’t bother him, even though it very clearly did. And it was starting to weigh on North’s mind, by now. She didn’t  _ actually _ like it when Simon was upset, and he was really down about this, for some reason. It had her in a somewhat uneasy mood, so much so that she felt the need to wander more than her normal duties required. 

 

Sometimes she wandered like this when she felt a bit jealous that Simon and Josh worked together. They told her she was welcome to jump ship from security to join their cafe any time, the business was plenty lucrative, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. It was fine this way, because she needed time on her own, every once in a while. Work hours were perfect for that. She couldn’t help but mope a little, though. After several years on security staff, she had her favorite haunts when she wanted to be alone but still doing her job.

 

That was how she found herself in a mostly empty corridor that only got traffic when the airport was swamped with delays and schedule mishaps. And, apparently, when there were travelers that wanted a nap.

 

She had come here hoping to take a break and sit quietly for a few minutes, maybe re-braid her hair (an activity that needed doing often and that, luckily, soothed her) when she spotted a bag from around the corner, laying seemingly unattended next to where her favorite bench was. 

 

She walked up to investigate, slightly put out that she had to do actual work, but discovering as she rounded the corner that there was actually a man attached to the bag. Luckily. Sort of. He was very much asleep and very much not holding his bag.

 

North sighed. She really hoped this guy wasn’t a weirdo.

 

She leaned over, keeping a respectful distance between their faces, and said in an even voice, “Sir, wake up. Hello?”

 

The man moved, almost as if he was in pain, and his face turned towards her, nose wrinkling and brow furrowing, a cascade of freckles across his skin moving as he woke up, sort of. He was really mostly still asleep, though, and he wasn’t responding at all.

 

She didn’t bother to hide her irritation, or make it quieter. Sighing more loudly, she tried again, this time tapping him gently but firmly on the shoulder, and speaking in English, because she would bet anything now that he was an American.

 

“Can you wake up, sir? Sir? Is this your bag?”

 

The man was suddenly awake and looking at her, very much embarrassed, and as his eyes (different colors, how odd, but definitely not endearing, nope) traveled over her face, he finally managed, in a sleep-slurred voice, “Yes, sorry, um, this one?” He hurriedly bent to pull the bag to his lap and look back up at her with an appropriately chagrined expression. “Sorry, I dozed off and it must have slipped,” he said.

 

North had to admit, she couldn’t be too mad. After all, she couldn’t blame him for choosing this spot to fall asleep. And he seemed nice enough, as far as men went. She’d always had a soft spot for gently embarrassed men.

 

“Not a problem, sir. Keep an eye on that bag though, it’s everyone’s job to make sure airport security is maintained,” she replied, relaxing easily into her normal friendly intimidation posture. She didn’t intend to be fucked with, but she also didn’t intend to have any supervisors telling her she needed to go back to basic training for peaceful interactions with the public.

 

The man, however, seemed to suddenly realize something, because he pulled out his phone to look at something with purpose, as if he meant to ask her a question. His mood shifted again rapidly, however, as his expression changed to one of alarm and disappointment.

 

“I hate to ask, but could you help me find Gate B25?”

 

Ah, of course, he was lost. Not a surprise, given the circumstances.

 

“This place is, well… I suppose I might just have to admit I’m bad at navigation.” His cheeks colored and North had to admit he was really fucking cute. Okay, she’d go easy on him. Somehow seeing some other man who wasn’t Simon being cute and kind of an idiot had put her in a better mood. She’d have to go home and give Simon some affection later. 

 

Chuckling a little, she replied, “Here, I’ll take you part of the way there. This place is a maze, bad at navigation or not.”

 

She let him scramble to his feet, looking a little disheveled and adorable for it, and then set off at her most comfortable businesslike pace, figuring that if he was that tall, he could keep up. He did seem to be in a hurry, after all.

 

Luckily, the gate he needed wasn’t horribly far, and she suspected she knew exactly which plane he was getting on. Eventually she got him to the moving walkway that led down the corridor to his gate. 

 

“Down that way is B terminal, you’ll go through security when you get to your gate, so I’d advise you hurry,” she said, letting the teasing bite she used on her boys slip into her tone.

 

The man nodded gratefully and turned, then seemed to change his mind, turning towards her again to face her and say, rather cheekily, “Thank you so much, Miss…”

 

North couldn’t help being charmed. This was the trouble with men, sometimes they were delightful. 

 

“You can call me North,” she replied, making sure to keep her face as neutral as she could. “No Miss-ing, just North. Now go on, or you are going to miss your flight.” She gestured in the direction of the B terminal, which happened to be on the north end of the airport, and watched him rush off, flustered and in a hurry once more, only letting the smile return to her face when he was good and gone. She was in a much better mood now than she had been an hour ago.

 

Maybe she wouldn’t mention this to Simon, given his current mood, but she was definitely going to go home and smooch him silly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with us on this little adventure <3 Any kudos or comments are loved and appreciated!


	3. Josh + Markus + Simon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back!! And we have so much fluff to share with you <3 This chapter sees the introduction of Josh, as well as the return of some familiar faces!
> 
> Markus and (most of) Josh written by OhNoMyBreadsticks, and Simon and North written by thislittlekumquat!

Josh was starting to worry about Simon. They were all used to his little crushes and how they usually fell through, but this time he seemed genuinely crushed. North was doing her best, like she always did, but when she wasn’t around Simon seemed… down. Mopey would be the word Josh would use to describe him. The little sighs, the big watery eyes when he didn’t think anyone was looking, and the way his excitement would drain out of him by the end of the day all added up to trouble in Josh’s opinion. The problem was, he didn’t have much of a way of helping him.

Josh had tried everything he normally did to try and get his Simon to cheer up, and none of it had worked. The tension was starting to get to him, and when Josh needed a bit of a pick-me-up, he ended up at the same place: the information kiosk. Sure, he worked at the café with Daniel and Simon, but he also volunteered his time here in the airport when he could. It made him feel good to be able to help people, even if they weren’t in the right mindset to be very thankful when he did. He didn’t think he would want to do it full time – the café was really where he felt most at home – but it there was no harm in volunteering.

A few shifts at the info kiosk always set Josh’s mind to rest, so here he was, sitting calmly and trying to make sure his pleasant expression stayed firmly in place. He couldn’t shake the thought of Simon’s glum little face, and it was making him space out. A small noise, like someone clearing their throat but only half-heartedly, broke him out of his trance. Josh focused his eyes on the person in front of him, and was greeted by yet another extremely glum face. Two mismatched eyes were looking at him, dull and tired and full of the same quiet misery Simon’s were.

“Can I help you, sir?” Josh asked, realizing that they were both staring at each other without speaking. In any other situation, that might have been because the man in front of him was almost model-like in appearance, but right now it was just his striking resemblance to Simon’s disposition that had Josh staring. “Sir?” he asked again, and that seemed to get through the man’s own haze of thoughts. He shook himself slightly, mustering a somewhat passable smile as he muttered, “I’m sorry, it’s been a long day. Do you have a map of the airport here?”

American, by the accent, Josh immediately guessed. He thought briefly of the man North had mentioned, the one she had told him not to tell Simon about. He didn’t blame her, there was no point in making him feel any worse about not being able to find his own mystery man again. “Yes, we do.” he replied, pulling out one of the brochures stocked in the kiosk, “But can I help you locate somewhere specific sir? There is quite a lot of airport.” He didn’t have any trouble getting around, but he could remember when he was new, and the airport had seemed like an impenetrable maze. Sometimes a map just wasn’t enough. Instead of the usual two emotions on patron’s faces, relief or annoyance, Josh instead witnessed a deep exhaustion seem to set into the man’s face.

“I don’t… know if you can,” he admitted. “I don’t know what the place I’m looking for is called. I don’t think I can even properly describe it.” 

Josh let out a soft hum, considering what to do to try and cheer this guy up. Because somehow, he had already decided deep in his brain that he was going to try his damndest to get a smile on that face. If he couldn’t help Simon, at least he could try and help this stranger, as weird as that logic was. “What kind of a place was it? A store? A restaurant?” Josh asked, listing off the first few things he could imagine this man needing in an airport that weren’t terminals.

“A restaurant. I had the most amazing food,” the man replied, his tone threatening to drift off into wistful territory again, “but I couldn’t tell you the name of it. And I never found it again, no matter how hard I looked.” Josh took one glance at the extensive list of restaurants in the airport and decided it just wasn’t worth it trying to play twenty questions to find wherever this place was. Instead, he put one hand over the map and gave the man a comforting smile. 

“Why don’t I take you to my favorite place to eat, alright? You look like you could use a warm meal.” In return, he was granted just the hint of a half smile. And that was quite enough for Josh.

As they walked together through the airport, Josh saw more glimpses of the man’s personality peeking through the exhaustion and the sadness. He seemed terribly pleasant, and despite his more somber mood, Josh had a feeling he would have an incredible laugh. He was, as it turned out, quite American, and quite often here on business. Well, technically ‘here’ meant running through the airport on the way to catch another flight. Josh had a strange feeling as they walked together, as if something was very close to piecing itself together in his mind. There was something oddly familiar about this man, and the way he so quickly made Josh feel at ease, it was… he couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something there.

What Josh absolutely hadn’t expected was for the stranger to almost collapse the minute they rounded the corner in sight of the café. He had to sling a guiding arm around his back to make sure he didn’t actually fall over, exclaiming a worried, “Are you alright?” 

In an even more shocking turn of events, the man looked up at Josh with a beaming grin, clutching at his arm and exclaiming, “This is it! Oh my god this is it!  _ Thank you _ !” It took Josh a few moments to realize what that meant, but when he did he found himself smiling as well. He had a feeling he knew another person who was going to be incredibly happy to see this man.

“Let’s get you a seat and some hot chocolate, shall we?”

* * *

Simon’s daily goal was to not be too down in the dumps over the mystery man who he had accepted he would never see again. He could tell how his mood was taking its toll on the others, but try as he might, a funk had settled in. He sighed a little as he picked up a tray with some tea and pastries for a table full of young women. Pointedly avoiding eye contact with Daniel, he turned and took the tray out the door, backing out as he went. His table was right near the door, so he’d managed to deliver the tray, give a half-hearted smile to the one woman who seemed to be the pack leader, and get halfway through a very rote ‘If there’s anything else you need’ sentiment before he found himself frozen where he stood. His heart was soaring impossibly high as Josh appeared with the man he’d seen in his dreams every night for weeks at his side.

He had to take a step back from the table to avoid knocking any of the dishes or porcelain over before he clutched at his shirt with one hand and murmured, “Oh my god, Josh  _ found him _ .”

Markus was halfway convinced that this was a dream, and any moment he was going to wake up in some terrible hallway and have to make a flight with ten minutes to spare. After what seemed like months (and had only, in fact, been weeks) he was finally standing in front of the cafe he had been trying so hard to get back to. Even better, he immediately spotted the blond angel from before, looking just as shocked and overwhelmed as he felt. God, he was even cuter than Markus remembered him being, which was a feat. 

Trying not to look like a total idiot, Markus gave a little wave and immediately regretted it.  _ Dorky move right there, Manfred _ , he chastised himself. Suddenly remembering his manners, he turned and gave the man next to him a beaming smile and a firm handshake. “Thank you so much, you don’t know how much this means to me!” he insisted, to which Josh simply smiled back and murmured, “I think I do.”

Simon felt as if his legs were jelly as the man walked over to him, but he found that they were carrying him forward nonetheless. One hand was slightly forward -  _ what are you gonna do, take his hand? Idiot  _ \- and he said, before the man was really even close enough to hear him, “You made it back. Josh brought you.”

He didn’t even think twice - when the other man approached him like that with his hand outstretched, Markus reached out and shook it. It was an instinct born out of years of business practice, and maybe a very selfish desire to touch the hand of the gorgeous blond. His hand was soft and warm and Markus wasn’t sure he ever wanted to let go. “I did. I, uh, sorry, I had a hell of a time finding you,” he said, then immediately flushed and added, “I mean I had a hell of a time finding the cafe.”

Simon flushed immediately, and couldn’t control a small smile at the man’s words. He said softly, shyly, “I’m glad you did. I’ve been… Uh, I’ve been hoping you’d come back. I didn’t even know if you traveled often, though…” He wanted to look at their hands, somehow control his face, but the other man’s eyes were enchanting - one green, one blue, both heart-meltingly gorgeous.

“I travel way too much,” Markus admitted with a tired laugh, “This airport is just confusing.” He realized belatedly that they were both just staring into each other’s eyes and holding hands right in front of Josh. Trying to salvage the situation, he introduced himself properly, saying, “I realize this is late, but um, my name’s Markus. Markus Manfred.”

“Markus,” Simon breathed, “Markus… Oh, oh, my name is Simon. Um, and this is Josh,” he said, suddenly catching Josh’s eye over Markus’ shoulder and feeling somewhat guilty. Not that he thought Josh minded, but. Sometimes he worried a little. “We run this cafe with my brother, Daniel.”

Introductions complete, Markus felt as if he were obligated to let go of Simon’s hand, which he did slowly, and with much regret. “It’s great to finally meet you properly,” he said with a smile, “It’s so impressive that you three run this cafe together. It’s the kind of food I dream about in-flight.” Was that too flirty? At least he hadn’t admitted to dreaming about Simon, so Markus figured he was doing alright.

Simon, despite his sense of loss at Markus dropping his hand, laughed, saying, “Well then we need to teach you how to navigate, so you can actually get what you dream about, I guess.” He was back to staring into Markus’ eyes. Flashes from the first time he’d met Markus went across his vision - his wrist, his throat under his slightly rumpled collar, his ass as he’d walked away. Simon tried not to gulp.

Markus chuckled along with Simon, admitting, “God yes, that would be amazing.” He wanted to ask for Simon’s number right away, but with Josh standing right there it felt odd. There was some part of Markus’ brain that knew if he hadn’t been so enamored with Simon right now he probably would have been a little flustered by Josh’s calm and steady presence. Luckily, that train of thought was derailed by his extremely angry stomach letting out a gurgle.

Now it was Josh’s turn to laugh, and Simon just smiled. “Can we get you anything?” Simon asked softly. “Anything you’re craving, in particular?” He knew it was bad, but his eyes flicked down to Markus’ lips and back up as he asked.

Markus wasn’t imagining the little lip look, right? He couldn’t be. It was too obvious. He swallowed hard as he tried to corral his brain into coming up with some semblance of proper English, and managed to say, “The hot chocolate last time was divine… Maybe that and something warm to eat? Chef’s choice.” Markus patted himself on the back mentally for not licking his own lips as he spoke.

Not breaking eye contact, Simon nodded, swallowing noticeably as he said, “Sure, I’ll give Daniel a few ideas. Hot chocolate’s on the house.” He offered his hand again, and gestured with the other behind him, indicating that he wanted to lead Markus to a table. He didn’t even care anymore how obnoxious they might be, he wanted more of Markus, and he was going to get it.

Markus was over the moon when Simon gestured for them to walk over to a table together. He had waited so long to spend time with his ‘mystery man’ and now he was going to take all the time he could get. That flight to France could wait, he could catch the next one. And who was he to pass up the offer of a hand like that? Taking it, Markus couldn’t help but smile at the feeling of their fingers locking together. Oh, it had all been worth it.

Josh meanwhile, had realized that he needed to find a way to bow out of this. Simon was adorable and very single-minded when he had a crush like this, and Josh didn’t want to interrupt. “I just realized that I have a shift starting now!” he announced cheerfully. “It was nice meeting you, Markus.” Markus at least had the decency to look back and give him a nod before his attention was entirely directed onto Simon.

Simon realized almost sheepishly that Josh had overtly left him to actually sit with Markus. Josh wasn’t scheduled for another four hours, in actuality. He made a brief note to thank Josh later, somehow, before he was pulling a chair out for Markus and tugging at his hand to encourage him to sit. “Josh will take good care of us,” he said warmly.

“I’m sure he will,” Markus agreed, sitting down as Simon instructed. He would have thought or said more about Josh, but his brain was too focused on the fact that Simon didn’t let go of his hand even when they were sitting down together at the table. For weeks he had been dreaming about seeing this perfect man again and worrying that when it finally happened Simon might not be interested like he was.

But the warmth of their hands clasped together on the table seemed to tell a different tale.

Simon felt almost giddy with disbelief. Josh, absolute saint that he was, had saved them. Markus had the most charming freckles, and Simon was imagining tracing lines over them with a fingertip. He couldn’t help squeezing Markus’ hand a little as he asked, “Do you have much time before your next flight? Can you sit with us for a while?” 

Markus had almost forgotten that he was at the airport to go somewhere else. The question made him pause, and he dug around in his coat with his free hand for his phone. “I have enough time to sit with you, maybe drink that hot chocolate. Then I have to leave again,” he admitted sadly. Internally, Markus cursed the fact that his destination this time around was non-negotiable, no matter how much he liked to pretend otherwise. Otherwise he would have cancelled his flight out of here in a heartbeat.

Simon kept his grip on Markus’ hand and tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. “Oh, that’s too bad. Will you be back through any time soon after this? Maybe you’d wanna stop by again? I’d love to have more time to talk.”

The nod Markus gave was almost immediate. “I want to stop by again. For sure,” he blurted out, then reined himself back in and continued bashfully, “I’ve been trying to get here again since I last saw you. I’ve just been very, very unlucky.” Damn, he really didn’t want to seem way too eager, but it was the truth. He just had to hope Simon didn’t think he was some kind of stalker.

Simon was easily slipping into the sly flirtation his partners knew him so well for - Markus flustered and looking like he might turn pink at any moment was just too cute for him to resist. “Was the hot chocolate that good?” he teased, grinning and swiping his thumb gently back and forth over Markus’ knuckles a couple of times, leaving a soft wake of friction where their skin met.

Markus was definitely fast on the path to being flustered - people who knew him in a private capacity (not that many, honestly) knew that he was easily embarrassed. It wasn’t like he had much time to practice his flirting. Or maybe that was just the excuse he always gave himself. When Simon started swiping his thumb across Markus’ knuckles, the flush definitely began to show across his cheeks.

“Oh absolutely,” he replied, then in the most earnest tone imaginable added, “And my waiter, wow, he was absolutely amazing.”

Simon laughed outright at that, his own cheeks a little rosy with delight. Grinning, eyes crinkled, he replied, “The waiter you had always gives special treatment to cute boys, don’t give him too much credit, or it’ll go right to his head.” He was right, Markus was absolutely breathtaking when blushing. 

A compliment on top of it all had Markus’ heart racing like a schoolboy’s. It was embarrassing, quite frankly, how captivated he was by Simon. Everything about him was just too perfect, from his bright blue eyes to the little wrinkles around them when he smiled. Emboldened, Markus squeezed their clasped hands a little tighter, saying, “And what if I wanted to give him credit? For being the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen in an airport?”

Now it was Simon’s turn to blush, hard. Alright, this was unfair, no one was allowed to be all shy but also smooth like that. Absolutely not. “Seems like a bit of a stretch of the imagination. Airports have the miracle of flight and all that, you know. But the waiter wouldn’t be opposed to taking the credit, regardless. He’s a bit selfish like that.” He was grinning ear to ear, and had completely forgotten that they were waiting on hot chocolate or that anyone else existed, honestly.

Josh, luckily, was used to Simon’s little daydreams. He had shooed Daniel off of this particular table and back into the kitchen so he couldn’t start a problem, and was delivering the hot cocoa and sandwich himself. Giving the two very adorable little flirts a moment to stare at each other, Josh then cleared his throat and set the dishes down in front of them.

“I heard the hot cocoa was a particular draw to this cafe, so please enjoy,” Josh said, winking at Markus in jest before turning to sweep away before he got pulled into their little whirlwind of emotions.

Markus felt like his face was on fire as he realized that Josh had probably seen their little exchange, and all he could do was quickly murmur a ‘thank you’ before the other man was gone.

Simon laughed as he watched Markus’ face, and he squeezed his hand one last time before letting go to prepare their drinks. “Don’t worry about Josh, he’s seen way worse, I promise. You can tell he doesn’t mind because he’s keeping Daniel in the kitchen, and he left us alone.” As he spoke, he mixed the cocoa and then pushed the little cup and the plate with the sandwich over to Markus.

Markus gratefully took the cup from Simon and tried to believe him. Josh had already seen him at his lowest earlier today, so this couldn’t be that much worse, right? 

Any worries he had immediately melted away as soon as that hot chocolate hit his tongue. An almost obscene sound escaped before he could restrain himself, and he felt his cheeks flush again. Oh god, this just tasted way too good.

Simon grinned knowingly and made his own cup as well. He had to admit, he also always breathed a happy little sigh when he took that first sip. And he’d been drinking his brother’s hot chocolate since they were kids. But he did notice that Markus looked more relaxed, too, which was good. “So what do you do all this traveling for, anyways? It’s not every day you end up seeing the same customers regularly, at least not around here.”

There was something just viscerally comforting about warm hot chocolate shared across the table from someone who was special to you. And Simon was definitely special already. Markus let the taste of cocoa linger on his tongue as he relaxed into his chair. He needed to chill out and actually have a decent conversation, or he was going to regret this the whole flight.

“Business,” Markus explained simply, then chuckled and added some details. “I work for my father’s company, we buy and sell art. So I travel quite a lot to inspect pieces and make deals,” he continued, trying to keep it simple but not so simple as to be insulting. Simon was smart, clearly, but Markus doubted he had any experience in the world of art trading. Not many people did.

Simon’s eyebrows went up slightly. That was unexpectedly sexy. Or maybe anything Markus could have said would have been sexy. It was hard to tell. He had to pinch himself a little when he realized he was wondering what Markus’ face, with those expressive eyes and those adorable freckles, would look like while he was getting head, instead of formulating a response. This was becoming a problem. 

“Art trading, huh?” he said, throat a little dry. “So are you an artist or an art history person? Or both? Or neither?” There had been a brief period of time when he’d considered trying to get some sort of humanities degree in that general direction, but money had been tight and life had directed him elsewhere.

Markus worried briefly that maybe Simon wasn’t feeling well. He seemed a little… distracted. But maybe Markus was only noticing because he was trying to catalogue every perfect blond hair falling across his forehead. “Artist,” he answered with a smile, “I’m knowledgeable in the field as far as history goes as well, but my true passion is the art.” Markus wondered if it would be considered bad form to bring up the fact that he had done several small solo exhibitions. Probably too braggy, he decided, and didn’t mention it.

_ Oh, fuck me _ , Simon thought,  _ of all the options, that was the sexiest one.  _

Deciding to just roll with his own thirsty energy, since the worst that could happen would be this clear foreigner never wanting to fly through his airport by chance again, Simon said, “I’m a bit nervous to ask more, you know, because every time you tell me something new about yourself, I find you even more irresistible. Do you sell your own art, then?” He only batted his eyelashes a little over the rim of his cup before sipping some more.

Markus was thoroughly flustered by those batted eyelashes, wondering to himself if it was possible to fall harder for someone you were already smitten with. Because that was what was happening here. If he didn’t think fast, he was going to say something stupid. Well. Stupider than anything he’d already blurted out.

Swallowing hard, Markus managed to say with some grace, “Yes, I do sell my own art on occasion. My father’s as well, although we also trade in other works.” He paused, deciding to throw bashfulness out the window, and pulled out his phone. “Want to see some of my work?” he asked, watching Simon carefully to see if he had overstepped.

Simon immediately set his cup down so he could see across the table. “Absolutely,” he said. “I love looking at art, and I would love even more to find out what yours looks like.” He glanced at Markus again, and met his eyes. They stared at one another for a moment, Markus’ hand poised over selecting a folder on his phone to open. Simon wanted to just close the gap and… Do what? Kiss him? He was going to scare the man away. But he couldn’t stop himself from wetting his lips with a small lick, mouth as dry as it was and hanging open like he was a fucking fish.

Markus had been about to open the pictures on his phone to show off a little when Simon looked at him  _ like that _ and he lost all the ability to have rational thought. If he was reading this correctly, Simon very much wanted to kiss him. And while Markus didn’t often have a lot of confidence in his ability to read potential romantic partners correctly, this seemed downright obvious. Simon was licking his lips and staring at Markus like he was a particularly tasty dessert. 

Just as Markus was beginning to lean in himself, a loud blaring alarm sounded on his phone and he startled, almost dropping the device. “Oh fuck,” he exclaimed, looking down at the text and seeing that his flight was about to depart in twenty minutes, “Oh fuck, I have to go!” The adrenaline and the regret were already swirling in him, and he looked at Simon, hoping to see understanding on his face.

Simon felt several emotions at once. He was disappointed, but also intensely worried now. “I thought you said your flight - nevermind, where are you going? Do you want someone to take you?” He pushed his chair back to stand up. He wouldn’t complain about getting to spend several hours with Markus if he got stuck in the airport, but he also could already see the way the man’s body easily molded itself  back into a posture of pure stress over the prospect of missing his flight. Markus clearly would come back to Frankfurt before too long, Simon had seen the way he’d been staring back at him. 

He would come back.

“I mean, only if someone can come with me right now,” Markus said, looking at his phone again and cursing under his breath. “My flight got shifted, I’m enrolled in one of those programs that puts me on the earliest flight possible.” He was hastily gathering up his things, slinging his bag back around his back and pulling out his wallet to fumble some bills onto the table. If he was going to be a terrible guest, he at least wasn’t going to dine and dash.

But stopping to look at Simon, Markus lost track of time for the briefest of moments, allowing himself to murmur a quiet, “I wish I could stay. Really…”

Simon shook his head and grinned ruefully, even as his heart sank into his shoes. “You can’t miss your flight for me. I’ll send Josh with you, he probably needs to get back to doing that as his actual job right now anyways. One moment.” He finally stood and went to fetch Josh, who followed him back out. As Josh asked Markus what gate and Markus double checked, Simon scooped Markus’ money off the table and tucked it into his breast pocket coyly, making sure the taller man turned to face him when he said, “Take that, and now you have to come back next time to settle on your tab, got it?”

Markus’ stomach felt like it was tying itself into knots as he stood there waiting for Josh, stress from the upcoming flight mixing with upset over not being able to stay here with Simon. He  _ really _ didn’t want to leave, especially not when they had just found each other again. But missing this flight and the meeting it led to would be catastrophic, and Markus wasn’t quite that lovestruck yet. Almost, but not quite. 

Markus had just turned to say goodbye to Simon when suddenly there he was, stuffing that money back in his pocket. A hopeful smile spread across his face at that statement, and he replied, “I guess I’ll have to come back soon, then.”

“You’d better, or my brother will get a passport to come kick your ass for the money himself. And you have a cute ass, so I’d hate for him to mess it up.” With a wink and another pat to Markus’ breast pocket, Simon stepped back, trying not to let what he was feeling show on his face as Josh nudged Markus to get him moving.

Markus laughed, the sound thinner and less robust than usual, but he still laughed. He turned as Josh nudged him, forcing his feet to move away from the cafe and the person he desperately wanted to spend more time with. Just before he got too far away to properly see Simon, Markus turned and waved, calling out a “Bye!” And with that, he was gone, Josh ushering him hurriedly towards his gate.

Simon raised a hand to wave, and then they were down the hall and around the corner and gone.

Josh shook his head a little as they made their way to the correct terminal, saying, by way of distracting both of them, “You know, I think a lot of people would be able to travel easier if some of these systems gave more time for making choices.” Luckily for Markus, it wasn’t too far, but he could have been very unlucky. At least he was already inside security.

Markus was completely in his head, so much so that he almost missed when Josh spoke to him like that. It took him a few seconds to shake free of his worries and say, “Oh, uh, yeah. It’s always too much time or not enough.” That was damn true of travelling everywhere he went. “Thank you for getting me to my gate, by the way. And for earlier,” Markus added, suddenly feeling guilty for only showing Josh the worst sides of him - depressed and stressed.

Josh had a particular skill for reading emotions on total strangers, and he felt bad for Markus. The guy was clearly not happy in a lot of ways, even outside of travel emergencies. “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to help anyone, but seeing Simon light up like that was worth helping you sixty more times in worse circumstances. You’re gonna make your flight, that’s all that matters, right?”

“Yeah, although I would have rather stayed,” Markus admitted with a wry smile. But he had to admit that it was also a relief to see the gate start to come into view. “You don’t have to walk me all the way. I can see the gate from here,” he offered, feeling bad already for inconveniencing yet another handsome and kind man. Frankfurt was apparently full of them. Markus made a promise to himself to bring Josh some kind of thank you gift next time if he could swing it.

Josh held out his hand. “You really are welcome back any time, you know. I’d like it if you could stay longer, too.” He felt sort of wistful to see Markus go. It was odd, but it had been really nice to see Simon so unabashedly flirting like that. Whenever Simon was happy, so was Josh. And it wasn’t hard to see why Simon was obsessed. Even when bemused and slightly jetlagged, everything about Markus was charming, almost unfairly so.

Markus shook Josh’s hand, thinking to himself again that this was another man who was just terribly nice and attractive. Frankfurt airport was going to be the death of him. “I’ll do my best to come back soon, and stay longer. Thank you so much,” he said, squeezing Josh’s hand one last time before letting go and heading for his gate. He needed to go, before he did something stupid like stay just to see these two happy again.

Josh waved a little as Markus left and hurried to his gate, and before he could think too much about how silly it was that they all had to live at the whims of a scheduling database for the moment, he also turned to go back to his post at the information desk one terminal over.

* * *

North was just coming from helping settle a dispute about boarding rules at the far end of the terminal when she spotted the mystery man she’d helped several weeks ago who’d literally fallen asleep in an empty hallway in his business suit. He somehow looked just as harried this time, too. Did this man ever get to relax? But she had to admit, he was cute.  _ He’d probably be just even cuter if I purposefully riled him up _ , she thought to herself. He looked bemused and rumpled and a bit flushed from what was likely a half-sprint as he waited in line to board his plane, which was clearly boarding its final, mildly tardy passengers.

Never one to worry too much about professionalism as long as she kept it in the family, so to speak, she pulled out her phone and discreetly snapped a pic, sending it to her group chat with Josh and Simon. She’d told them in great detail about this guy when she’d seen him last time, so she couldn’t resist. She pocketed her phone again as the guy scanned his ticket and walked through the door, and strolled off, whistling a little. It was almost time for her break, and she was starving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around, we hope you enjoy this newest chapter, because we had a blast working on it <3 As always, any kudos or comments are loved and cherished!!

**Author's Note:**

> The authors would like to express their sincere wish to one day meet Dabid Cabbage and give him the beatdown he deserves for his many crimes.


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